Jurisdiction and Role of the Virginia Court of Appeals

The Virginia Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court. It was established in January 1, 1985 to speed up the appellate process and increase the appellate capacity of the courts in Virginia. The headquarters of the Court of Appeals in Virginia are in the Supreme Court Building in Richmond, Virginia.

Judges of the Court of Appeals in Virginia

The Virginia Court of Appeals is comprised of 11 judges who are selected by a majority vote in each of the houses of the General Assembly of Virginia. Each judge is elected for an 8 year term. If a vacancy occurs while the General Assembly is in recess, the Governor of Virginia can appoint a judge, but such an appointment is valid for a period of only 30 days after the beginning of the next session of the General Assembly.

The Chief Judge is chosen by the judges of the Court of Appeals by a majority vote to serve a four year term. The Chief Judge of this court is responsible for deciding where the Court of Appeals sits. The Court of Appeals in Virginia usually sits in one of the following four locations: Chesapeake, Alexandria, Salem or Richmond. This provision of sitting in one of the four places in Virginia allows the citizens of the different regions of Virginia to conveniently attend the court hearings in the state.

The calendar of the Court of Appeals provides details about the dates and locations of the court’s sittings for a particular year. To find out about the location or the date of a particular sitting, you can visit: http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/cav/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/calendar.html.

The Court Clerk of the Court of Appeals is responsible for maintaining and processing court records, appeals and other important files and documents that are received by the Court of Appeals.  To contact the Clerk of the court of Appeals in Virginia use the following address:

Virginia Court of Appeals
109 North Eight Street
Richmond, VA 23219-2321
Phone: 804- 371-8428
Website: http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/cav/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/home.html
Monday through Friday 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Composition of the Panel of Judges of the Court of Appeals

The Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals is responsible for assigning the judges to the panels and for the rotation of the membership of the panels. The Court of Appeals usually sits in a panel comprising 3 judges but it may also sit en banc (all together).

Each panel hears and decides cases separately. Cases that involve appeals may be granted for criminal cases and any other cases that are passed on to the panel.

The judges of the Court of Appeals sit as a whole or en banc under the following situations:

•    When there is a disagreement among the judges of the panel to which a case was assigned, the aggrieved party may request for an en banc hearing of that case. However such a decision has to be approved by 4 judges of the Court of Appeals.
•    When the majority of the judges of the Court of Appeals feels that it is appropriate to sit en banc for a case; and
•    When a judge of a particular panel feels that the decision given by that panel conflicts with a previous judgment passed by the Court of Appeals or any other panel of judges, he may request for an en banc sitting. But such a sitting also needs to be approved by at least three judges of that panel.
•    When the judges of the Court of Appeals sit en banc under the aforementioned conditions, it may reconsider the decision on a particular case made by a particular panel, or overrule the decision made by that panel, or the full Court.  At such hearings there must be at least eight judges present.

Jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals

The Virginia Court of Appeals exercises original jurisdiction to pass writs such as habeas corpus, prohibition and mandamus in a case over which the court has appellate jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals also has the authority to sanction writs of actual innocence when an aggrieved individual, who is convicted of a felony charge, appeals to the Court. 

The Court of Appeals exercises final authority over the hearing of appeals on any order, final judgment or ruling passed by the circuit courts in Virginia, which deal with divorce cases, cases which deal with annulment of marriage, cases pertaining to spousal support, custody cases, visitation rights, cases that deal with child support, adoption cases, as well as any other domestic matter. Apart from these the court hears appeals from other administrative agencies, and gives final decisions on cases of appeals from the Compensation Commission of the Workers in Virginia.

The Virginia Court of Appeals has the power to reflect on the petitions that are on appeal from the circuit court on matters which deal with orders of conviction in traffic violation cases, cases which deal with concealed weapons, all appeal cases that deal with criminal matters except those which involve capital punishment (which are heard by the Supreme Court of Virginia), cases that deal with the preliminary hearing of felony case rulings that are requested by the Commonwealth, and cases arising from the circuit court which pertain to the mental health or other medical treatment of the inmates that is involuntary.

Court Procedure

The Virginia Court of Appeals hears criminal cases and cases that involve traffic
violations. Each petition for appeal is passed to one or more judges of the Virginia Court of Appeals. When a petition is referred to a judge he may pass judgment based on the record without an oral argument. The judge may either grant a petition for appeal or deny it.

If a petition for appeal in a criminal matter is accepted, then both the parties need to fill out briefs and the Court Clerk of the Appeal’s Court forwards this appeal to a Court panel. When a petition is rejected, the individual has to present himself before a Court panel and furnish reasons as to why the Court should grant his appeal. The panel of judges may again reject such an appeal, in which case the panel will pass an order which denies the petition for appeal stating reasons for denial and the case ends. But if the panel of judges approves of the petition filed before it then further proceedings are carried out.

Appeals from administrative agencies, cases that deal with domestic issues, or appeals that arise from the Compensation Commission for the Workers of Virginia do not go through the petition system. These cases are considered as appeals of rights and the appellate court has to hear these cases as a matter of individual right. In these cases both parties are required to fill out briefs which are then forwarded to a panel of judges consisting of three members by the Clerk of the Court.

The Court of Appeals issues the final decision on appeals and the rights of appeal cases by a written opinion or a court order which can be viewed by the individuals. After the final decision is issued by the Court panel, individuals or a party may request for a rehearing of the final decision passed by the Court panel. If a hearing is granted by the Court of Appeals, it may be heard by a particular panel of judges or en banc. It may also be heard by the original panel that passed the final decision on that case.

To search for opinions passed by the panel of judges of the Court of Appeals, you can visit http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/cav/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/home.html or
 http://www.courts.state.va.us/search/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/textopinions.html.
 
Or Contact the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at:

Court of Appeals of Virginia
109 North Eighth Street
Richmond, VA 23219-2321
Phone: 804-371-8428

Virginia Court of Appeals Forms

The various forms used by the Virginia Court of Appeals are:

•    Notice of Appeal from the Trial Court
•    Rules of the Court
•    Information on the petition for requesting for the Writ of Innocence
•    Affidavit for the Criminal Appeal withdrawal

For more information on how to download these forms and other instructions, you may visit http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/cav/forms/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/home.html.

Certification of Cases

The Supreme Court of Virginia has the right to certify any case that has been passed to the Court of Appeals, for the purpose of review, before such a case is heard or adjudged by the Court of Appeals. The certification transfers the case to the Supreme Court.  However a case is certified or transferred to the Supreme Court of Virginia only if it is of great public importance and needs to be dealt with quickly, or if the Court of Appeal’s docket is congested, in which case the matter is transferred to the Supreme Court to expedite the hearing of that case.

Finality of the Decisions Passed by the Court Of Appeals

The decision of the Court of Appeals in regards to matters such as rejection of an appeal, or a petition for appeal is final under the following conditions:

•    Cases that deal with annulment, divorce, spousal support, child custody cases, adoption cases, child support cases and any other domestic matters.
•    Cases which are passed to the Court of Appeals from the Compensation Commission for the Workers of Virginia and other administrative agencies.
•    Misdemeanor cases and cases involving traffic infractions which have not resulted in an incarceration.

However except for these conditions, aggrieved individuals who are unhappy with the final decision passed by the Court of Appeals can request for a petition of appeal before the Supreme Court of Virginia.